Category Archives: food allergies

Instant Pot gluten free pumpkin bread pudding

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This is sooooo good. I had heard of people making pumpkin pie and bread puddings in their instant pot, so I decided to merge the two and see what happened. It was a huge hit!

Disclaimer: this is NOT a super fast cooking recipe

Here’s what I used:

  • 6-8 pieces of Udi’s gluten free cinnamon raisin bread
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1/2 cup organic sugar
  • 1 Tbsp organic cinnamon
  • 1 tsp organic vanilla
  • Dash salt
  • Dash nutmeg
  • 2 drops cassia essential oil
  • 1 can organic pumpkin purée
  • 1 cup of whole milk or 1/2 milk, 1/2 cream
  • 2 cups of water (for steam in instant pot)

Grease the inside of a baking dish that will fit in your instapot (I used a 1 1/2 qt stoneware dish).

Cube bread and fill dish. Drizzle melted butter over the bread cubes (this step can be omitted if you want it a little more cake-like).

In my kitchen aid, I beat 4 eggs with the sugar until mixed, added vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & cassia. Mix well and stir in 1 can pumpkin purée, then pour in milk and mix until blended.

Pour pumpkin mixture over bread cubes and let is sit for a few minutes or tap it down to let it absorb into the bread and let some air bubbles out.
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Cover the dish with foil and make a foil sling to make it safer and easier to lift the pot when it is done. (This is basically just a long strip of foil folded into a 1-2 inch thick ribbon and placed around the pot so you can grab it and lift it out at the end).

Insert the steamer rack and pour in 2 cups of water into the instant pot. Set the dish into the pot and set it on manual for 35  minutes at high pressure.

Let it naturally release for about 5-10 minutes and then manually release the pressure to open the lid. Carefully remove it using the sling pieces (the steamimg_8881.jpeg below is super hot).

Uncover and serve topped with whipping cream or organic yogurt. We used vanilla soy yogurt as a dairy free option (due to allergies we can only have dairy when baked. I used real cream in the recipe but you could sub if needed). The yogurt flavor compliments it best in my opinion.

Excellent for dessert or even a yummy breakfast!

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup

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I can’t get enough of real food, clean, allergen free soup and stew recipes. It is such a wonderful healthy comfort food when the weather is cold, but also packs full of immune boosting ingredients to help keep us functioning optimally. To be honest, I don’t remember where this recipe originated since I modified it based on a recipe I found many many years back, but it has become a favorite in our family and gets rave reviews from guests. It’s healthy (spare the cream) and the perfect flavors of fall and winter for a stand alone meal or as an appetizer to any dish.  Enjoy!

  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

(Or substitute spices with doTERRA essential oils – 1 drop coriander, 2 drops cumin, 1 drop oregano, 1 drop fennel, 2 drops black pepper) *most essential oils cannot be ingested so please do not do this with another brand. These have been tested for safety.

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, ground
  • 1 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 large box or jar chicken broth  (or veggie broth if you want it vegetarian) – homemade bone broth is excellent base for all your soups and stews
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. white pepper
  • 1/2 cups heavy cream or 1 stick butter (optional)

Cook sweet potatoes (I prefer cooking them in the instant pot), allow to cool enough to peel, remove skins.

In a spice grinder, grind all spices together into a coarse powder. (or just use the oil drops)

Sautee onion and crushed garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onion is soft.

Combine sweet potatoes, pumpkin, spices, cooked onion/garlic and chicken stock in blender. (may have to divide into batches if making a large quantity)

Once blended, pour mixture into large pot on stove and cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated.  Consistency can be adjusted with more/less broth.  (Heavy whipping cream and/or a small amount of sour cream can be added for extra yummy & creamy soup, but not necessary)

Pour heated soup into bowls and garnish with sour cream and fresh parsley if desired.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread with Wild Orange Glaze

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Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread with Wild Orange Glaze

slightly adapted from this awesome recipe from Brandie at http://www.spoonandsaucer.com/gluten-free-pumpkin-bread/?crlt.pid=camp.ySpC6lN1AjBf

I honestly would LOVE to make this again with her eggnog glaze, but the SO Delicious coconut eggnog that I love is not easily available here, so I may have to wait until we go out of town and then bring a cooler to stock up (it’s worth it, folks).Screen Shot 2015-11-05 at 1.54.33 PM

* This recipe is a double batch because you will be MAD if you make only one loaf. Trust me.

Pumpkin Bread
  • 3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (I ran out, so I did 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice, then added some fresh ground nutmeg, 2 tsp cinnamon, some ginger, clove and allspice)
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 drop Cassia Essential Oil**
  • 6-8 drops Lemon Essential Oil**
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
Wild Orange Glaze
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water (or more as needed)
  • 2 drops Wild Orange Essential Oil**
Instructions
GF Pumpkin Bread
  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Grease 2 loaf pans.
  3. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour through salt) with a whisk until well combined.
  4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients until well combined.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix just until there are no dry clumps, being careful not to overmix.
  6. Pour the mixture into your greased loaf pan, and bake for appx an hour, or until golden brown, and a knive or toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Remove from the oven, and cool on a wire rack.
Wild Orange Glaze
  1. Put the powdered sugar in a cup, and add the water.
  2. Whisk until the glaze is thick, and smooth and add in the Wild Orange oil.
  3. Drizzle on the bread, and let it sit until the glaze has dried out a bit.
  4. Slice and enjoy!** I use only 100% pure therapeutic Grade Essential Oils that are batch tested for purity and safe for internal use. Contact me if you would info on where to get these essential oils.

liquid garam masala

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So I love the flavors of curry, but can’t take the heat with most pre-made sauces. With the allergies here we have to make everything from scratch anyway, so I’ve developed a quick and easy way (NOTE:: not claiming it is authentic) to make a yummy curry dish here at home with whatever we have at the time… and use our amazing doTERRA oils to flavor it!
liquid garam masala
Here is my loose ‘recipe’ that you can follow and modify at will:

MEAT & VEGGIES:

  • about 2 lbs of bite sized chopped meat (beef or chicken)
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped (we’ve also added potatoes before)
  • several carrots, chopped
  • 1 small carton of grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 1 jar of Majestic Garlic curried garlic (this stuff is not easy to find, but is AMAZING). I apologize if most of you can’t get this bc IMO it really makes the dish. If you can’t get it, any whole pickled garlic cloves may also be a good substitute. I put in a LOT.

SAUCE:

  • 1 can of organic fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 3 small cans of organic coconut cream
  • a few TBSP of dairy free butter

SEASONING:

  • several TBSP of mild curry powder
  • about 2 TBSP of cumin
  • a few drops of doTERRA lime essential oil
  • 1 drop each of doTERRA Cardamom, Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Clove Bud, Black Pepper essential oils  (if you don’t have these yet, msg me and I can get them to you)
  • a dash of sugar to balance out the tomatoes
  • more cinnamon powder if needed
  • salt to taste

This week I started with some beef pieces cut into small bite-sized portions and marinated them ahead of time in some olive oil, salt and a can of coconut cream (we usually use chicken).

Heat some olive oil in a pot (I like to use my enamel coated cast iron dutch oven) and cook up some chopped onion until tender. Add in the cauliflower, carrots and meat until meat is browned and veggies are tender.

Add in 1 can diced tomatoes, 2-3 cans of coconut cream (less if using the full sized cans, but mine were the really small cans) and butter. Throw in the grape tomatoes, garlic cloves and all seasonings and let it simmer until flavors are well blended. This one really requires you to customize the flavors to your liking, but that is what I love about making this dish!

Serve over brown jasmine rice. YUM!

Rosemary & Thyme Roasted Veggies

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roasted veggiesThese are SO good. I never thought I’d get this excited about veggies, but seriously these are really that good….and easy.

1) Take whatever veggies you have in the fridge. I often like to use carrots, celery, tiny potatoes, grape tomatoes, onion, red peppers, okra, broccoli, etc etc. Remember: eat the rainbow! The more color and variety the better!

2) Chop them into bite sized pieces.

3) Spread them out in a large baking dish (the flatter the better) and coat them with my all time favorite rosemary & thyme infused olive oil. Toss them around until they are coated and lightly salt them with sea salt.

4) Bake at 400 for about an hour or until they are slightly toasted and crispy. You’ll want to shake them up and make sure they get really well cooked (I like them slightly burnt). Drizzle a tiny bit more of the rosemary & thyme oil on at the end and salt to taste. ENJOY!

Even the kiddos gobble these up. They’re the perfect way for anyone to devour a pan full of veggies, even if they supposedly don’t like veggies 🙂

Rosemary & Thyme ‘cheesy’ popcorn

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This is addictive. I am warning you. I am a popcorn fanatic and this is hands down my favorite ‘recipe’ for popcorn to date.
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Here’s how to make the popcorn:

1) start out with a good quality popcorn kernel. Make sure you choose organic NON-GMO popcorn since most ‘corn’ out there is not. I like this organic popcorn from Arrowhead Mills (affiliate) from Amazon and can get it on subscribe and save delivered straight to my door whenever I want (my love for that service is documented in another post).

2) pop the popcorn on the stove

**For those who have never done this, here is a how-to on popping over the stove…
Get a nice large stock pot with a lid and cover the bottom of the pot with an oil of your choice and pour in kernels until the cover the bottom and are coated in oil (don’t skimp on the oil – make sure it sufficiently coats them all). Many people love using organic coconut oil. I have still had better results with a good quality extra virgin olive oil, but to each his own.

Have a large bowl ready and sitting next to the stove so when it starts popping you can quickly transfer it out. Cover your pot (a see-through lid is excellent for this process so you know what’s going on inside) and turn it on high heat. Let it sit until the popcorn starts rapidly popping and make sure to lift it slightly off the heat and shake it vigorously so as not to burn the bottom and let the unpopped kernels fall to the bottom. If the pot fills up, carefully (as not to burn yourself) lift part of the lid…just enough to let some of the popcorn fall out into your bowl and then keep going until it’s all popped. This can take some practice, so don’t give up if it isn’t perfect the first time. It is an art worth mastering!!

So dump all the fresh popcorn into your large bowl and now we can move on….

3) butter and salt the popcorn to your liking. Again, the quality of ingredients makes a big difference, so if possible use real, organic butter and a good quality sea salt. If you’re worried about the calories rising before your eyes, you can skip the butter step and go straight to the rosemary & thyme olive oil. If not, the flavor is amazing with both 🙂

4) take your rosemary & thyme infused olive oil (if you don’t already have this on hand, see instructions below) and drizzle it liberally on the popcorn. Toss it and do it again. Take a few pieces just to make sure it’s delicious.

**Since you’ll want to make this popcorn regularly (and I use this infused oil on just about every dish that leaves the kitchen now), do yourself a favor and make sure you have a batch of my rosemary and thyme infused olive oil stocked in your kitchen. Trust me – you’ll want this on hand. You can make it up in single use batches, but you’ll kick yourself for not making a whole vat of it. Just drop about 8 drops of each into an 8 oz GLASS container of EVOO.

**DISCLAIMER** You can NOT ingest many essential oils on the market. I don’t want you to get really sick, so don’t try this with any that are not safe for internal use. For more information on getting your own essential oils, feel free to contact me on the about page.

5) grab your nutritional yeast and start shaking it on. By this time you’ve already buttered and salted the popcorn to your liking so this is just icing on the cake. I like to coat and toss the batch several times so that each piece has it’s fair share of nutritional yeast 🙂 I like this Braggs Nutritional Yeast (affiliate), but there are some other good ones out there too.

Nutritional Yeast has a delicious ‘cheesy’ flavor and is loaded with good B vitamins which are essential to our health. For vegans (or those like us who are allergic to dairy and can’t enjoy and real cheese), this gives an excellent flavoring option. You can learn more about the benefits of Nutritional Yeast here.

6) this is entirely optional, but I love to crush fresh dried herbs on top just to make it that much more beautiful and delicious. I have had an abundance of dried cilantro lately and it gives a nice compliment to the flavors. You can sprinkle on any dried herbs that you’d like.

7) go hide in a corner so that your family doesn’t completely devour the entire bowl and leave you without. haha. j/k but be prepared to make another batch. it goes fast!

Beef Bone Broth

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OK so I have made my own stock before with chicken and turkey, but I was more intimidated to make beef bone broth. With the chilly temps today and a few little ones needing an extra immunity boost, I knew it was time to just jump in and get this going! Our pediatrician highly recommended that we incorporate homemade bone broth into our diets on a regular basis, so here we go! I followed a lot of the steps from this recipe from Nourished Kitchen http://nourishedkitchen.com/beef-stock-recipe/

I started out with 9 lbs of assorted organically raised beef bone parts. I consulted the farmer directly on this since I figured he’d be a pretty good resource. I had a bag of oxtails, a few feet (cross-cut), several split marrow, a hefty beef shank with a little meat on it, and a few other things I should have written down. So I pulled out my massive roasting dish, set the oven to 400 degrees, drizzled olive oil down and put all that in the oven for a bit.

The best thing is to save a bag full of veggie ‘scraps’ for your broth as you chop veggies for meal prepping. I hadn’t been saving them up to this point, so for my first attempt I just chopped a few bunches of organic celery and used the ends and leafy parts, threw in a bag of organic carrots, several organic onions and about a pint of organic mushrooms. Roasting veggies makes them taste AMAZING, so why not do that with the stock, right? I threw all these chunked up veggies onto the top of the bones and let it all roast together. I left them in for about an hour and a half (until I knew I had to move on to the next step and still make it to bed at a decent hour).

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This is the part I don’t have an exact science for, since the bones and amounts that I have are so different each time. I have a massive stock pot so I pulled that out onto the stove and then got out my large crock pot as a back-up simmering station.

I divided all of the roasting pan goodies into the stock pot and crock pot, filled them both up with water and brought it to a boil. Once it was boiling, turned it down to a simmer and added in 2 Tbsp of organic apple cider vinegar and a dash of cinnamon (because I cannot make a beef dish without it lately). I’m obsessed with cinnamon.

Do NOT add salt to your bone broth, as it will condense down and can become too much as the stock thickens. Better to add it to the final dishes as needed when you actually use the broth.

So it has been there on a low simmer all night and the house smells yummy.

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Can’t wait to sip some of this for our lunch today! It is good straight up with a dash of seasoning, or I add it as the base for ALL of my home made soup recipes which we make frequently…especially in these chilly months! Let me know how yours turns out!

Certified Health Coach

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I’m happy to announce that after many long hours, studying and hard work, I am officially a Certified Health Coach with the Sears Wellness Institute!

certified-logoMany of you know that we have been learning from Dr. Sears as our pediatrician for a few years now, and have LOVED their natural, common sense and more holistic approach to health and wellness. With my son’s health issues and food allergies, we have been on a path toward clean eating with real foods for quite awhile, and this was just a great fit for pushing our lifestyle further with more formal education on lifestyle, exercise, attitude and nutrition. I have learned so much through this journey that has pushed us to make even more changes in our habits, and continuously move toward our wellness goals.

I look forward to sharing this knowledge and coaching many of you on your journeys as well. Feel free to message me with any questions that you have, or just keep following along, as I will also be striving to post more regularly here on the blog now that we are finally settled in to yet another new home and community 🙂

IQMega

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Omega 3 is so essential to healthy development in children, and this awesome stuff contains 1000mg (combo of EPA & DHA) Omega 3, flavored with wild orange oil. This is the perfect Omega3 supplement to add to the kids’ morning smoothies! My 3 year old even asks for it in a spoon if he can catch me before I add it in!

Maybe some of you have toddlers that are jumping up and down to eat a plate of fresh wild caught salmon for breakfast every day, but for the rest of us….this stuff is golden! The Wild Orange oil paired with these essential fatty acids is a perfect combo to cover that ‘fishy’ taste and odor that is so common with Omega 3 supplements.

IQ Mega

IQ Mega

If you aren’t already aware of the immense benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet, see here why these are so critical for your children, and check out some of their other benefits. The typical American Diet is high in Omega 6 essential fatty acids (found in things such as vegetable oils, seeds, soybean, sunflower, etc) but generally people tend to be heavy in Omega 6 and deficient in Omega 3…both of which are critical to healthy growth and function.

There have been impressive studies that show marked improvements in children’s attention, learning and behavior with no other changes than adding in Omega 3 to their diet. It is also amazing for healthy skin. Since strictly controlling his diet and adding in some key supplements, my 4 year old has healthy and soft skin for the first time in his life. I’m still learning so much that the skin is an outward sign of internal wellness, so rather than just masking the symptoms, how great to have things that can help soothe from the inside-out.

In addition, the IQ Mega
• Promotes healthy cardiovascular, nervous, and immune system function.*
• Supports healthy joint function and comfort.*
• Provides important modulating nutrients for healthy immune function.*
• Protects against lipid oxidation and supports healthy function of the brain and eyes.*

Always consult your pediatrician with any medical questions, but I hope this stuff can help your family as much as it has helped ours!

disclaimer

Cilantro Lime and Wild Orange Brown Rice

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As if the oils weren’t amazing enough for their therapeutic benefits, there are several that you want to have on hand in the kitchen for instant flavor twists on the most basic recipes.

Tonight’s plain dinner was instantly transformed by throwing some cilantro into our brown rice and then adding about 3 drops of dōTERRA lime oil and drizzling on my dōTERRA wild orange infused olive oil. Instant flavor that perfectly complimented our garlic lime pork chops and pineapple!

Real meal plans week #1

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Ok here is this week’s meal planning menu board using real dairy, egg, wheat, nut free food.

Posting in case I need to get these ideas again later, or maybe someone else out there needs ideas too!

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Here are some of the recipes (though I have modified a few for our family).

MONDAY – http://paleomg.com/summer-squash-meatball-casserole/

TUESDAY – http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-deen/roasted-carrot-and-basil-soup-with-grilled-cheese-dunkers-recipe/index.html

WEDNESDAY – http://paleomg.com/indian-chicken-and-rice-paleo-recipe/

THURSDAY – http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/71808/brazilian-black-bean-stew

What’s for dinner? …on-the-fly Shepherd’s Pie

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I love recipes that I can make up as I go. Maybe it’s because I don’t always have the exact same ingredients on hand or maybe it’s because I don’t like having to follow directions, but if you’re in a bind and have some ground meat on hand, you can make what I like to call “on-the-fly Shepherd’s Pie” 🙂

STEP 1: cook up a pound or two of (preferably local grass-fed…..we ordered 1/4 cow from a local farm, but that is for another post) ground beef in a large oven-safe skillet and boiling some potatoes while your meat is browning. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

STEP 2: Once the meat browns, this is where the fun begins – dump in a little of this and a little of that to season it up and make a base for your shepherd’s pie. I like to add in things like:

  • some sherry wine
  • chopped organic tomatos
  • chopped onion
  • chopped garlic
  • dash of cinnamon
  • dash of nutmeg (these give ground beef such a yummy unique flavor)
  • sea salt, pepper
  • about a cup of water
  • some organic ketchup to thicken
  • some oregano, basil, thyme

STEP 3: let it all cook a little until it’s nice and saucy, then throw in whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand (you can even use frozen if you so desire). I added a cup or two of chopped carrots & green beans, but seriously you can use a lot of things (green beans, zucchini, etc) Let it all cook more until veggies begin to soften. Taste the sauce and make sure it’s yummy.

STEP 4: At this point you can drain and mash up your potatoes to throw on top, or keep them separated. I kept the potatoes separate and drizzled them with lemon essential oil infused olive oil and fresh rosemary.

STEP 5: I then whipped up a quick batch of gluten-free bisquick dough (ok so this part is a bit cheating if you’re going for 100% ‘real’ food, but if you want you can just mash & use the potatoes) and spooned/spread it right on top of my meat & veggie sauce on the skillet and threw it all in the oven for about 15 minutes until it forms a light and fluffy crust.

This is a super tasty, very forgiving, warm comfort food dish for the changing season! It’s also dairy-free, gluten-free (if you want), nut-free and easily adaptable! I apologize for the lack of pic, but everyone was super hungry 🙂 Will catch it next time!

Allergen Free Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Cookies

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So these look a lot like my 3 ingredient breakfast cookies, but have a flavor all of their own! It has finally dropped below 80 degrees here in Southern California and fall is in the air (at least in my mind) so time to pull out PUMPKIN EVERYTHING! WOOOHOOO!

I decided to try a pumpkin version of the oat cookies and since I am OUT of bananas (big problem in this house) I had to experiment with some other ingredients. Check out these yummy pumpkin spice breakfast cookies. They aren’t overly allergen free pumpkin spice cookiessweet, but my kids didn’t seem to complain (had to snap a quick pic before they were gone) and they were just the pumpkin spice flavor I was craving 🙂

Allergen Free Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Cookies (dairy, wheat, egg, nut free)

  • 2 1/2 cups Rolled Oats (recommend Bob’s Red Mill GF if you need a gluten-free version)
  • 1 cup organic pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 2 tsp organic vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • appx 1/4 tsp each of ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
  • 3/4 cup organic brown sugar

Throw all ingredients into a stand mixer and mix until a nice blended dough forms. Drop ‘dough’ onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Enjoy with a nice hot cup of coffee or a pumpkin spice latte (recipe coming soon)!

how to eat real food…really: GREEN SMOOTHIES!

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Anyone that knows me knows that we LOVE our smoothies! We make them every morning and my 2 toddler boys BEG for these. It’s a great way to get a ton of fruits and veggies in right away and start the day right. Of course all our recipes are dairy free so the calories are kept at a minimum too.

My only regret in getting super amazing high powered blender is that I didn’t do it sooner. If there is one purchase we’ve made in the last few years that has contributed the most to our nutrition, the Vitamix wins hands down. Of course you don’t have to have a Vitamix to get healthy amazing blended things quickly, but man, it helps a lot. The best thing for us about it, is that it mixes everything so well you can hide a LOT of veggies in….and still have a delicious smoothie.

There are endless possibilities and you can throw in whatever you want, but here is our morning go-to smoothie recipe:kale green smoothie recipe

  • 2-3 bananas (not overly ripe b/c I don’t like too much banana flavor)
  • 2-3 stalks of kale (stalks removed – using the leaves only makes it less bitter)
  • 1-2 cups strawberries or 1/2 bag frozen (frozen are great to chill smoothie without watering it down)
  • 2-3 cups baby spinach
  • 1 fresh lemon, juiced (I juice in 1-2 oranges too if I have them)
  • about 2 cups organic rice milk (add more if needed to thin texture)

This is the base no-fail recipe that we love, but it’s also great for throwing in veggies that may need used up like cucumber or carrots! If not using any frozen fruit, add a handful of ice to chill and thicken it up. Despite the photo, I normally avoid blueberries in the smoothies (they love to eat them on the side) as I find they thicken up too much after sitting for a few minutes and are a really big pain in their straw sippy cups.

We also add a drop of Vitamin D to the cups before serving per our amazing pediatrician’s recommendation. It is a vitamin packed way to start the day, and fills them up with the good stuff before anything else!

Simplify: save time & money with home deliveries!

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Ok, this has seriously been SUCH a huge help to me since having kids that I cannot say enough about it. One basic way to simplify AND save money is to price out home delivery options for things that you would normally run around town for at the store. For me, I LOVE LOVE LOVE amazon and their subscribe & save program.

I have over 20 things that I don’t have to buy at the store anymore and that I get in bulk shipments and SAVE money on by having them show up at my door. There’s no way that’s not a win-win in my book! Taking 2 (soon to be 3 kids) to the store leaves me less than productive to say the least, plus I don’t have the option to price compare or the room and hands to fill the cart with enough to stock up things.amazon_boxes

This week, I’m not able to get off my feet much (while stalling the arrival of our next precious little one ) and I still have been able to stock up on pantry and household items, thanks to this —>

If you have an amazon prime account you can do their subscribe and save program and if you order more than 5 items at a time, you get 20% off your entire order (when a lot of the items are already cheaper to start with)! If you don’t already have a prime account, you can sign up with Amazon Mom and get a free 3 month trial here.

So here’s how it works…
with Subscribe & Save you pick your item, pick how often you want it auto-shipped (once every month – once every 6 months) and what day of the month you want your shipment. For example, I have an auto-ship for the 3rd of the month so on that date everything I have set for that month will ship. It take some getting used to, but you can easily change the dates and months around once it’s set up.

Here are a few tips and trick that I’ve learned to make sure we’re getting deals (as well as saving time running to stores, gas driving around town, headaches getting my kids to cooperate on extra shopping trips, etc…..)

  • Next time you go shopping, save your receipt and come home and price compare to the amazon price. Make sure to factor in your EXTRA 20% off if you find 5 items. I was shocked at how many things are cheaper online, no tax and no shipping fees! yes, please!
  • Set items to ship only once every 6 months at first so you can learn how long it takes you to use what you’re buying. When you are about to need more, just go and change your shipping month to the next month and it will be on it’s way with the next shipment. After that it’s easy to gauge how often you use up each item.
  • Once you have 5 items shipping in one month, try and spread it out to order 5 different items for the next month to get the 20% discount. This also makes it easier if you think of something you want to add later and still want the bigger discount.

For those wondering what kind of items you would order like this, here is a list of what I get to give you some ideas:

  • diapers x 2
  • wipes
  • paper towels
  • toilet paper
  • flavored syrup for coffee
  • organic coconut milk
  • organic ketchup
  • deli brown mustard
  • organic coconut oil
  • allergen free cereal bars
  • allergen free cookies
  • squeeze applesauce
  • organic vegetable glycerin
  • moisturizing lotion
  • herbal tea bags
  • sunflower nut butter
  • brown rice flour
  • gluten free baking mix
  • organic vanilla extract
  • rolled oats

I swear I don’t work for amazon, but I would if I could b/c I love it SO much! I did sign up to have an affiliate store on my blog for the aforementioned reason, so if you want to see specific brands of what I use, you can browse through there to see a lot of these items. I am just all about saving time and saving money right now to SIMPLIFY our lives and this has been a great way to do it!!